Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1887-02-03
Poultry for Home Use.

poSs tue cTauDcIIJ Nus pSSh ihiPiofS"
to like extent.
Poultry for Home Use.
On very many farms the women and
children take entire charge of the fowls.
and rely on them chiefly for obtaining
whatever money they receive in the
course Of the year. If the farm is
located near a manufacturing village.
hotel where railway passengers take
meals. or summer resort. the chances
are that the eggs and fat fowls are dis
posed OF at fair price, and that the
business of keeping poultry is quite
profitable. If, on the contrary. the
farm is remote from any of the places
nam ii, and it is necessary to send the
fowl to a distant city market to dispose
of. the chances are that very little profit
will be derived from keeping turkeys,
geese, ducks, aud hens. 1t costs much
more to send given number of pounds
of dressed OF live fowl to distant city
market than it does the same weight
of cattle. sheep or hogs. The cost of
selling them is also much greater. The
market for poultry nuctuates much
more than it does for beef, pork. or
mutton. The latter articles are cured
IN various ways, and may be kept n
long time before they pass into the
hands of the consumer. Fowls, how
ever, must be sold within a few days
of the time they arrive in large
town, or they will spoil on the hands
of the holder.
Women and children who keep fowls
on farms with a view of hav nc the
money that is derived from them gener-
ally send them to market few days
before Thanksgiving or the winter holi-
days. They want money TO buy winter
clothing or Christmas presents They
think there will be very brisk demand
| for fowls on annual feast DAYS and they
will bring a high price. In many cases
they are sorely disappointed CHI efly
for the reason that too many make the
same calculations. AS a rule the mar
ket of western cities is ovestocked with
fowls before Thanksgiving. Christmas,
and New Years day, and unless the
weather is favorable for sending them
to the east prices are likely to rule low.
Great cities are likely to be well sup
piled with other del;cacies than fine
fowls during the winter holidays.
| Hunters then send large quantities OF
game to market The fat-stock shows
have Just closed. and a large proper
ton of the best cattle and sheep that
were Oh exhibition for the purpose of
obtaining premiums are slaughtered
and their carcasses finely ornamented
and exposed for sale in the leading
butcher-shops. The market is also
well supplied with all kinds of fresh
and salt water fish. In short. there is
no end to delicacies.
On farms remote from good markets.
where the price of poultry can be learn
ed from day to day, fowls are general
" worth more for home consumption
than for sale. Most farmers of good
means find it difficult to keep their
tables supplied with fresh meat. As a
rule their meat diet consists almost en-
tirely of corned beef. salt pork, or ba-
con. They have no fac lties for keep
ing beef. pork. and mutton fresh for
more than few DAYS, and the obtain
ing of fresh meat from town butcher
is both inconvenient and costly. II
they sold more beef and pork, and ate
more poultry their pockets and health
would be benefited. Health and hap.
piness are intimately associated with
good living and few things contribute
more to good living than fine turkeys,
geese, ducks. and chickens. By keep
ing four kinds of fowls on place,
farmers can have variety OF meat
food without any expenditure of money
Every owner OF an improved farm
should be able to have turkey OF
goose for the Sunday dinner during the
portion of the year that these fowl:
are in good condition to eat l
properly cooked, one of them will fur
nish the leading dish Tor a substantial
feast.
Hens, which are always called
"chickens" when they are cooked, are
unlike turkeys and geese, in condi
ton to eat at all times of the year
AS Ia'sed on most large farms, thei
flesh cost but little more than beef, anC
as they can be killed at any time they
are convenient for keeping the tabl,
supplied with substitute for butcher.
meat A very large number of fowl,
, can be kept on farm if suitable at
, tention is given to them. Geese, lik,
hogs, can be kept during the summe
. months almost ent rely on grass ant
clover, and if there is good pond o
stream of water in the pasture or else
where on the farm they will spend mucl
, of Their time near it and be OF no trou
BILE to the occupants OF the house
! Geese are more hardy than turkeys, re
guire less attention. eat cheaper food
and need scarcely any attention. Fam
] lilies of foreign birth or extraction. liv
: ing on the outskirts of this city, kee
5 thousands of geese at scarcely any cost
4 They afford no protection for them. ex
cept when they are very young. an
? they live almost entirely upon grass
! table refuse. and garbage. That mos
western farmers would find geese poi,
l able to raise for home consumptic
: seems certain. although it is rare to sc
a flock of geese on prairia farm.
: Chicago Times.
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